MANKATO — As a boy growing up in Mankato, Bryan Paulsen loved playing with blocks. So one could say he was always destined to be a premier architect, said his wife, Tami Paulsen.
“He always enjoyed building things,” she said. “His brothers and parents would tell me he was always building with blocks. When I met him in high school, he was taking a drafting class and he was passionate about it and just said that’s what he wanted to do in his career.”
Bryan, she said, was the love of her life and best friend. He died Monday after a yearlong battle with a rare form of kidney cancer. He was 69.
Originally, it wasn’t the plan to make a life in their hometown of Mankato. But her family’s business drew Tami back and then Bryan followed his high school sweetheart after graduating from the University of Minnesota School of Architecture in 1982.
He put himself through college, Tami said, taking any job he could find and acquiring experience with architecture firms so that, by the time he graduated, he had significant experience.
Upon returning to Mankato, Bryan started his career at Kagermeier Skaar Architects of Mankato in 1982 and eventually became a firm principal. In 1995 he left to start his own practice, Paulsen Architects. He reconfigured a spare basement bedroom into his office.
His first employee was Greg Borchert, who joined him from Kagermeier. Borchert recalls their early days when he and Bryan took two doors and propped them on sawhorses for desks.
Steadily, the two gained clients.
“He was such a super guy. When he asked me to leave Kagermeier, I came home and told my wife about it. It was scary and I was young yet. She was very conservative but she said, ‘You gotta go with him.’ We both knew before we started that we would be a success.
“He was just a people person,” Borchert said. “He was extremely creative and really cared for everyone. We created what I considered a family. It was the best job I ever had in my life.”
Tami joined Paulsen Architects in 1998, bringing with her business expertise. Together they successfully operated and grew the business, she said. The firm received numerous design awards and recognitions. In 2013, Paulsen Architects was acquired by I&S Group, now ISG.
Bryan became ISG’s director of architecture. Projects he cited as being most proud of during his 40-plus-year career were the Midwest Wireless Headquarters, which is now Federated Insurance, the Minnesota State University Centennial Student Union renovation, Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, Riverfront Park, and Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery, his obituary said.
“He had a passion for his work,” said friend and colleague Rick Straka. “He was just infectious. He involved everyone in a workspace from a custodian to the president. Everyone was important and felt they were a part of the project. He did really important work for both institutions.”
Straka has worked at South Central College and MSU and noted how Bryan’s Centennial Student Union project “changed that building forever. He brought in light and opened it up and made it a living room of the university.”
Mankato developer Curt Fisher considers Bryan a friend and colleague and said he played an important role on the development team of every project they did together.
“We appreciated his talent,” Fisher said. “I will miss him greatly. He was a great guy.”
Contractor Scott Umhoefer worked with Bryan for 37 years in various capacities and said he was the kind of special guy you see come around every so often.
“I consider myself fortunate to have known and worked with him on dozens of projects,” Umhoefer said. “He’s truly a person who I admired. He was a leader and an innovator and had great vision. He exuded confidence. He inspired confidence because of his abilities.”
Bryan was an avid parishioner at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Mankato and also oversaw a pivotal renovation of the church, said The Rev. John Kunz. Like with the MSU student union, Bryan brought light into the space and also created a gathering area for congregants.
“We had none of that,” Kunz said. “What it did to this congregation was marvelous. He created lighting and a really welcoming atmosphere. People still describe that when they come in our front door, that it feels warm and welcoming and that had not been the case before. He was instrumental in making our parish more hospitable. It opened our parish in magnificent ways.”
Bryan also gave back to the community by getting involved in nonprofits. He served six years on the board of Feeding Our Community Partners, and Sheri Sander-Silva, executive director of the nonprofit, described him as an incredible advocate, steadfast board member and a true “hunger hero.”
“He was very committed,” Sander-Silva said. “He was compassionate and a dedicated champion for youth. He joined our board during a time of immense growth and helped lay the foundation for the programs we operate today.”
Bryan’s first love, however, was family, Tami said. The couple have a son, Jonathan, and two granddaughters, Alice and Parker. Bryan was thrilled to be a grandfather and his beloved granddaughters called him Poppe. Together they played, read and went fishing.
“The highlight of his life would be his family,” she said. “He loved being a grandfather. Definitely design was his passion but not more important than family, that is for sure.”
A colleague confirms that devotion to his family. “The team Bryan and Tami were, they were truly one of the closest teams I’ve ever met,” said Chad Surprenant, ISG owner. “You knew they did everything together. He was so good at his profession but the importance of family … He was such a good dad and his grandchildren, those were first and foremost. He was a well-rounded, solid human being.”
Bryan’s funeral is 11 a.m. Friday, June 20, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.